Wheeled convertible sprayer and duster



21, 1956 E. H. WELLER 2,759,293

WHEELED CONVERTIBLE SPRAYER AND DUSTER Filed Aug. 22 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1 35 2 3 3 49; 79 41/ INVENTOR.

79a 9 49- QR 6144 was? I I Arrows/s75 Aug. 21, 1956 WELLER 2,759,293

WHEELED CONVERTIBLE SPRAYER AND DUSTER 2 Sheets-SheetZ 6 i -5 f9 f8 (74 6.7,

Filed Aug. 22 1951 fa ia" 43 I I m INVENTOR. 2124 A4 H/ELLER United States Patent WHEELED CONVERTIBLE SPRAYER AND DUSTER Earl H. Weller, Bay Village, Ohio, assignor to Leonard M. Strunk, 'Coatesville, Pa.

Application August 22, 1951, Serial No. 243,143

1 Claim. (Cl. 43- 148) This invention relates to improvements in a wheeled convertible sprayer and duster. In certain respects it represents an improvement over the insecticide dispenser of my copending application Ser. No. 183,376, filed September 6, 1950, now abandoned.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a ground supported machine balanced so that it can be handled by an operator on foot with a minimum of effort.

Another object is the provision of a dust tank unit of a form and construction that is adapted for removable mounting above an upright blower. 1

A further object is the provision of a dust dispensing pipe adapted to occupy a horizontal position for dispensing dusting insecticide laterally in both directions and tubular conductor connections for disposing the dispensing pipe at different heights relative to the blower.

.Still another object is the provision of adjustable deflecting means at the ends of the dispensing pipe for directing the discharge from the pipe ends upwardly, downwardly, forwardly or backwardly.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with the description of that embodiment of the inventionfwhieh, for the purposes of the present application, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the machine with the dust tank unit in operative position thereon.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the duster tank unit.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the duster tank unit.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental sectional view on a larger scale, the view being taken substantially on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the duster tank looking in the direction of arrow 6 in Figs. 2 and 3.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic elevational views of the blower with the horizontal dust dispensing pipe connected thereto at different elevations, and

Fig. 9 is an elevational view of the tubular connecting conductor used in Figs. 7 and 8.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings there is shown a frame consisting of two parallel upright bars connected at the top by a crossbar 16 which serves as the handle for the machine when it is moved about by the operator. Preferably the side bars 15 and handles 16 are integral and are bent up from a length of steel tubing. At the bottom frame members 15 are connected by a metal plate 17 upon which is mounted and secured a prime mover such as a gasoline engine 18. Above the engine and about midway of the height of the frame there is a blower 19 which has a peripheral flange 19a that is bolted to the frame bars 15 as indicated at 20. The blower shaft carries a pulley 21 which is driven by a belt 22 running over a pulley 23 on the engine shaft. In order to provide a wheeled carriage for the machine plates 24 are welded to the side bars 15 and extend rearwardly therefrom. In these plates there is mounted r 2,759,293 Patented Aug. 21, 1956 'ice an axle 25 which is thus spaced rearwardly from the frame. Ground wheels 26 and 27 are mounted to rotate on the axle 25. A pulley 28 is secured to the inner side of the hub of wheel 27 for a purpose presently to appear. When the parts are in the position illustrated in Fig. l the plate 17 is at least as low as the bottom surfaces of wheels 26 and 27, and since the engine is disposed in advance of the upstanding frame the machine when at rest will set on the plate 17 or on that plate and the wheels. When the machine is to be moved the operator grasps handle 16 and tilts the frame rearwardly on the wheels, thereby swinging the frame plate 17 upwardly off the ground. When the frame has been tilted backwardly to a convenient angle the mass of the machine is balanced substantially about the axle 25 and may be pushed along with little effort.

The dust tank unit comprises a sheet metal receptacle 30, open at the top, adapted to receive a supply of powder or dust to be dispensed. It is provided with angle bar brackets 31 secured to opposite side walls of the receptacle, the outwardly extending flanges 31a of which are provided with holes for the reception of screws or bolts 32, preferably one in each bracket, by which the unit may be attached to the frame bars 15.

The principal part of the receptacle is disposed above the blower, as shown particularly in Fig. 4. However there is a semicylindrical downward extension 33 open to the interior of the receptacle, which projects down below the forwardly extending portion thereof on the rear side of the blower, as also shown in Fig. 4. A shaft 34 extends through this extension and carries an agitator35 which may consist of a sleeve 36 pinned to the shaft and a plurality of arms 37 mounted on the sleeve. One extremity of the shaft carries a pulley 38 which is driven by a belt 39 running over the pulley 28 on the ground wheel 27. Accordingly as the wheel 27 turns, the pulley 38 is rotated and the agitator 35 driven, thereby insuring a good supply of powder at the bottomof the receptacle extension.

A row of 'holes 39 are provided at the bottom of the extension through which dust may drop when the holes are uncovered more or less by an arcuate guard 41 which is oscillatably supported on shaft 34 by upwardly extending ears 42, 43 journalled on the shaft. Above the shaft the ear 43 is welded to a rod 44 by means of which the guard 41 may be shifted to close all of the holes 39 or to open them to a selected extent. A resilient metal strip 46 fastened at one end to one of the brackets 31 is provided with a pair of indentations for resiliently holding the guard 41 in difierent positions on said tank.

A sheet metal hopper 47 is attached to the receptacle 30 by fastenings 48 or the like. It extends downwardly along the rear surface of blower 19, its side walls being inclined toward the center of the blower. Inside the hopper there is a triangular piece of metal 49 which directs dust dropping from the holes 39 and 40 forward toward a small exit opening 50 disposed opposite the central intake opening 51 of the blower. The inclined sides of the hopper do not quite meet the extension 33, and thereby air intake passages 52 are provided. The suction created at the opening 51 of the blower causes air to enter at 52 and to take up dust in the hopper and carry it through openings 50 and 51 into the blower.

The discharge end 53 of blower 19 is directed upwardly, its position being indicated at 53' in Fig. 3. When the insecticide dust is to be distributed laterally in both directions from the top of the machine, as in Fig. 1, a tubular conductor 54 is slipped over the discharge end 53 of the blower, and at the upper end of conductor 54 I mount in a horizontal position on said tank a transverse dispensing pipe 55 built in the form of a T with a short upright stem 56 and lateral arms 57 and 58.

In order that the discharge of dust laden air may be substantially equal in both directions, an inverted V deflector 59 is positioned opposite the stem 56. At the ends of the pipe 55 there are mounted cylindrical caps 61 and 62 which may be turned to dilferent angular positions. These caps are slotted for a distance from their inner ends and provided with straps 63 which may be tightened to clamping position by bolts 64. In the caps there are vanes 65 which serve to deflect the dust laden air dispensed by the machine. By adjusting the caps to difierent angular positions therefore the discharge may be directed upwardly, downwardly, rearwardly or forwardly and to intermediate directions. While the pipe connections illustrated in Fig. 6 are stable and sufficient to hold the parts in place, it may sometimes be desirable to draw the connector pipe 54 tightly against the forward side of the recessed portion of the receptacle 30, and for this purpose I provide a coil spring 66 attached to pipe 55 and adapted to be hooked over a projection v67 on the tank.

When the machine is to be used for dusting row crops that are of low or intermediate height it is desirable to arrange the dispensing pipe at lower elevations than that illustrated in Fig. 1. In order to accomplish this purpose I provide a connector pipe 68 of inverted U-shape shown in Fig. 9. This pipe has a short leg 69 and a long leg 70. Either one of these legs may be mounted on the discharge end 53 of the blower. When the long leg is so mounted and the dispensing pipe 55 inverted and attached to the short leg 69 the parts take the position illustrated in Fig. 7, where the transverse dispensing pipe is disposed a short distance above the blower. When on the other hand the short leg 69 is mounted on the discharge end 53 of the blower, and the long leg attached to the stem 56 of the T-shaped dispensing pipe, the parts take the position of Fig. 8. Hence by the use of the two connecting conductors 54 and 68 three different elevations of the dispensing pipe may be utilized.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In apparatus of the character described, an elongated substantially planar vertical frame having side bars and a transverse upper crossbar, a transverse axle supporting said apparatus and disposed at the lower end of the frame and adjacent said side bars, a single pair of ground wheels rotatably mounted on said axle, a vertically disposed blower adjacent to said side bars having a peripheral flange attached to said side bars and having a central air inlet and a discharge outlet, a prime mover supported by the frame below said blower and below said axle, a tank for insecticide powder removably mounted in the frame above said blower in a position to be substantially bisected by the plane of said frame, said tank comprising a delivery chute extending downwardly along one side of the blower and having an outlet disposed opposite the central air intake of the blower, and an air discharge conductor having a dispensing pipe mounted on said tank and connected with the discharge outlet of the blower.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 157,256 Wiard Nov. 24, 1874 620,977 Schneider -1- Mar. 14, 1899 634,524 Franklin Oct. 10, 1899 641,594 Hartwich Jan. 16, 1900 787,211 Nicholls Apr. 11, 1905 1,063,373 Morgan -1 June 3, 1913 1,337,438 Carlson Apr. 20, 1920 1,408,400 Richards Feb. 28, 1922 1,454,824 Stubfors May 8, 1923 1,473,786 Gore Nov. 13, 1923 1,566,121 Roberts Dec. 15, 1925 1,674,391 Dunnagan June 19, 1928 1,851,406 Ross et al. Mar. 29, 1932 1,873,993 Brasington Aug. 30, 1932 1,942,562 Myers Jan. 9, 1934 2,040,845 Heim May 19, 1936 2,253,802 Ness et al. Aug, 26, 1941 2,288,101 Mayer June 30, 1942 2,310,620 Dye Feb. 9, 1943 2,558,914 Root July 3, 1951 2,596,011 Darley May 6, 1952 

